DISH to sell phones through Blockbuster

US satellite TV provider, and would-be wireless operator, DISH Network plans to start selling mobile phones through the retail stores of its wholly owned home entertainment chain Blockbuster, Bloomberg reports. The article, citing unnamed sources, notes that DISH has already commenced selling Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA phones through Blockbuster’s website under the ‘Blockbuster Mobile’ banner, and that the company plans to expand those sales to its 850 retail stores.

DISH purchased Blockbuster in April 2011 following the latter’s bankruptcy proceedings, and that year the company also acquired 40MHz of Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) S-band spectrum in the 2GHz band. DISH has long harboured ambitions to enter the US wireless market, most likely through a partnership with an established operator, and is currently awaiting final Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval that would allow it to use its frequencies for an LTE- Advanced network, which it hopes to launch by 2016.